Late Saturday evening, three Sputnik employees in Ankara were attacked at their homes, with organized groups attempting to break down the front door, threatening and calling the agency staffers “traitors” and “Russian spies.”

Russian news agency Sputnik Turkey hasn't been able to reach three employees for nine hours; contact was lost after they went to the police to report a raid on their homes which happened on Saturday, Sputnik and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan wrote on Telegram.

The attack on Sputnik staffers in Ankara occurred at about 10:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, with groups of at least 10 attempting to break down apartment doors and storm the homes of the journalists.

The assailants reportedly shouted nationalist chants including “Turkey for the Turks”, “Homeland is indivisible”, while threatening and insulting the Sputnik employees, calling them “traitors” and “Russian spies.”

Following the incident, Sputnik editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan asked how the attackers obtained the agency staff’s home addresses.